Book Review: Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

Book Rating:

3/5

Book Review:

I can’t say I truly enjoyed this book. I found it difficult to get through, and most of the characters unlikable to a point of nonredeemable. Into the Water is a good enough read, but I simply didn’t love it. Paula Hawkins is talented enough to where she sets a chilling, spooky scene the entire time, but there were too many characters to keep straight. Halfway through the novel, I was still wondering, “Wait, who is this again?”

Into the Water had a twist at the end, but I didn’t find it a twist that was truly jaw-dropping. It was more as if the book built up slowly, and then slowly came to a close. The ending wasn’t disappointing or anything, it just was more like an “Oh, okay.” moment for me.

To be quite frank, I didn’t find a character in this book that I truly identified with or connected with at all. Most of the time, I have a connection at some part of the character, and I have some kind of sympathy or hope for them. People say that the narrator of The Girl on the Train was unlikable, but I don’t agree with that… I got to a point where I understood that narrator and identified with her hopes and actions at some point in the novel. For this book, I never got to that point.

So, would I recommend Into the Water? Sure. It was a good enough book, with some interesting characters and Hawkins is certainly talented at writing. Do I think everyone needs to read this book? Nah.